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Key Points:
- A default printer is the printer that all jobs will be sent to regardless of the application being used.
- By default, Windows manages printers by sending jobs to the last printer that was selected on the computer.
- Users can override this by manually selecting their default printer at any time.
Instructions:
The steps below reference setting a default printer in Windows 10. For instructions on how to do this in Windows 11, click here to view KB article #146247.
- Click the Start menu icon (located at the bottom left of your computer screen).
- Type the word printers.
- In the Best match list, select Printers & scanners.
- A list of all the printers that are currently mapped on your computer will be shown. The printer that is marked with the Default notation is your default printer.
- To make a printer your default printer, click on the printer within the list and choose the Manage option. Finally, select the Set as default option.
If you cannot set a printer as the default, then Windows 10 is managing your printers and you will need to override this setting. Scroll down to the bottom of the Printers & scanners list and remove the check from the Let Windows manage my default printer option. Go back up to Step 5 and you should now be able to manually set your default printer.
